Dozens Arrested in Holiday ‘booze It’ and ‘dry Water’ Campaigns

Between state and local police and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, dozens of drivers of motor vehicles and boats have been arrested and ticketed for a variety of violations. And we still have a full weekend to go before the holiday is officially over.

As we said in our July 1 post, the statewide “Booze It or Lose It: Operation Firecracker” anti-drunk driving campaign kicked off on June 28. That first night, officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area filed 46 charges against motorists. The DWI Checking Station was one of seven sobriety checkpoints in the state.

Only nine charges in Charlotte were for alcohol-related offenses — eight motorists were cited for driving while intoxicated and one for an open container. At the Durham checkpoint, six of 34 charges filed on July 3 and July 4 were for DWIs. What drivers may forget is that officers at checkpoints are looking for any violation, not just DWIs.

Last year’s Operation Firecracker resulted in nearly 2,000 DWI citations across the state. There were 361 alcohol-related crashes and 17 deaths.

Boating while intoxicated is just as dangerous as driving under the influence. Just as the highway department and police target drunk driving enforcement efforts over holidays, the Wildlife Resources Commission used the weekend before the Fourth of July to remind people that drinking and boating is also illegal. The campaign, “Operation Dry Water,” ran from June 28 to June 30.

According to the commission’s law administrator, officials arrested more than 20 people for boating while impaired. The number is down from last year. Each person faces a fine and the possibility of jail time.